


The Irony of Falling in Love With Your Enemy

by orphan_account



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: BillDip, Billdip fluff, Gravity Falls - Freeform, Gravity Falls AU, Human Bill Cipher, M/M, Older Pines Twins, Possible angst have fun, Teenage Dipper Pines, Teenage Mabel Pines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-07-15 12:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7221967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years after Weirdmaggedon, the Pines twins return to Gravity Falls to spend another summer. On their first day back, Dipper meets a strange boy, who he can't help but fall in love with. What he doesn't know is this boy is actually Bill Cipher, reborn into a non-magical human form. Bill doesn't want Dipper to find out his true identity, and intends to keep it that way. Mabel, however, suspects Dipper's new friend isn't who he says he is, and she's determined to find out who exactly her brother has become smitten with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome Back, Pines

Deep in the Oregon forest, just outside of a little town called Gravity Falls, lies a clearing. Overgrown by plantlife, cracked with time and erosion from wind and rain, a stone statue is nested in the soil. To a stranger, perhaps they would see it as just an odd carving, left behind by someone walking through the woods. But if you lived in Gravity Falls five years before, you’d know what - or, more accurately,  _ who _ \- the statue was. A stone pyramid, brought to a certain degree of life by a large eye, top hat, bowtie, and arms. The rest was buried under the vegetation and dark soil. Bill Cipher. A once-omnipotent dream demon who tried to take over the world. Destroyed by the Pines family by erasing him from existence with a memory gun. Five years after his “Weirdmaggedon”, and still, people from the town refused to walk that hiking trail, leaving it to be overgrown by animals and plant life. Many of the citizens were just trying to forget what had happened. Bill’s statue was the only true remnant of the event, the rest having been swept away, back to his dimension. While Bill was, in most people’s hopes, gone forever, there was still the nagging thought in the minds of the Pines family that he’d be back. After all, his last words  _ had  _ seemed to be “My time has come to burn, I invoke the ancient power that I may return.” Maybe it was just Bill’s final wish, or even worse, a warning. The Pines hoped it was the first option. They’d shattered his main form, so he  _ shouldn’t _ be able to come back. For five years, that’s what they thought if Bill somehow came to mind. Perhaps they should’ve thought about destroying his  _ physical _ form, too. Deep in that clearing, in the eerie quiet of the forest, a ear-popping  _ crack!  _ split through the calm. A burning yellow light radiated out from a new crack in the statue, hissing and writhing into various forms. The first a triangle, then some sort of cat, then an abstract beam of light, finally pausing on a humanoid shape. A quiet giggle echoed from the crackling light, crescendoing into maniac laughter. It would seem that Bill Cipher, who had been dormant for years, was back. 

 

* * *

 

Dipper Pines had fallen asleep on the bus. He was leaning on his twin sister, Mabel, who was none too pleased with the fact her brother had decided to use her as a pillow, but she wasn’t going to risk waking him up and getting smacked in the face with the heavy blue journal Dipper had clutched against his chest. Their great-uncle Stanford had mailed it to him from overseas, saying he’d found it and thought Dipper would like it to record some of his own findings in that summer. After that blasted dream demon, Bill, had destroyed the original journals written by Ford, Dipper was determined to re-write them. He’d been ecstatic when they’d been invited back to Gravity Falls over the summer again, having not been back since Weirdmaggedon. But since Soos, who’d taken over the Mystery Shack for Stan, was on vacation, Stan and Ford were coming back for the summer. Mabel sighed. Dipper had headphones on, and she guessed he had the volume turned almost all the way up, for his music was audible to her. And as much as Mabel loved her brother, his taste in music could really use some work. She gazed out the window, taking in the lush scenery of the Oregon forests. It was going to be, she decided, an amazing summer. With no danger of getting attacked by a demon, it was going to be filled with fun and adventure. Hopefully no death. There was a soft rustle of fabric and hair as Dipper lifted his head from Mabel’s shoulder. There were lines on his cheek from the seams on Mabel’s sweater and his hair was standing on end. He reached up and took his headphones off, pausing his music. “Are we nearly there?” He mumbled, still half-asleep. Mabel glanced out the window on the other side of the bus. Sure enough, the “Welcome to Gravity Falls!” sign flashed past. “Yep! Gravity Falls, here we come!” Dipper grinned, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to get it to lay flat. It didn’t work. “Awesome. It’s gonna be great to see everyone again! Facetiming just isn’t the same.” At seventeen years of age, Dipper and Mabel Pines were both quite different from their 12-year-old selves, and just a little outside of normal for other 17 year olds. Both had dark chocolate hair and brown eyes. Mabel had cut her hair just above her shoulders in a bob, whereas Dipper had kept his basically the same for five years. Short and brushed over his forehead. (Although it was significantly fluffier than it had been.) Much to Mabel’s dismay and Dipper’s great pleasure, Dipper had grown taller than his sister by a couple inches. Mabel had gotten her braces removed a couple months after returning from Gravity Falls the first time. Dipper had gotten glasses. And pierced his ears, for some reason. Earlier that year, on their seventeenth birthday, the twins had gotten matching tattoos on their arms. Mabel a shooting star, Dipper a pine tree. As a reminder of their place on the Cipher wheel. Dipper rubbed his with a thumb as the bus pulled up to the station. He reached into his backpack and pulled out the hat Wendy had given him when they’d left. He hadn’t been wearing it on the excruciatingly hot bus. (Seriously, he’d thought when they had first boarded, you could probably fry an egg on one of the seats. It was a miracle they hadn’t died of heatstroke.) The bus groaned to a stop, and the twins slung their backpacks and duffels over their shoulders. Mabel picked up the kennel she kept her pet pig, Waddles, in. Waddles had been asleep for most of the trip, and only woke now to give a snort of displeasure as he was hauled from the ground before dozing off again. The brunette-haired twins pranced off the bus. Well, more Mabel pranced off and Dipper stumbled off, still sleepy and weighed down by all his luggage. They were met by multiple shouts of greeting belonging to their friends and family. Wendy, Stanley, Stanford, Grenda, and Candy all waited for them at the stop. Mabel immediately dropped her bags and ran to Grenda and Candy, shouting hellos as she hugged them. Dipper chuckled and walked over to embrace Wendy, who was wearing his old pine tree hat. “What up, Dippin’ Dots?” She crowed, grabbing him by the shoulders. Dipper smiled. “Same old stuff. Dealing with my  _ little sister, _ and all that.” Mabel made a face at him. 

 

“Stop rubbing it in that you’re taller!”

 

“Never. This is revenge.”

 

“I hate you.” 

 

“I know!”

 

At this point, Stanley, who had been watching his bickering niece and nephew, broke down into fits of laughter. 

 

“Oh, kids, this is even better than the first time this happened!” 

 

Mabel attempted to glare at him, but couldn’t, and instead grinned and ran to hug him. Ford quietly moved to Dippers side. “Dipper. Do you have the journal I sent you?” He said in an urgent tone. Dipper’s smile faded slightly. “Of course! Why, is there...is there something wrong?” Ford reached into his coat and pulled out a velvet-red journal. “I’m detecting some new anomalies around here. I was wondering...if you’d care to join me record some of them?” He finished, smiling. Dipper’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Obviously!” Ford nodded. “Then you’ll need this.” He pulled out a metal plaque, shaped like a pine tree, and handed it to his nephew. Engraved on the front of it was the number 4. “I thought we could continue the journals as a team.” Dipper nodded profusely, and opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Mabel and Stan laughing. 

 

“Look at our nerdy brothers! Aw, I missed this!” Mabel called. Dipper threw her a sarcastic half-smile. “Shut up and pick up your bags.”

 

* * *

 

After dropping everything off at the Shack (And obviously sorting things out again), and going out for lunch at the diner, everyone parted ways to do their own separate thing. Grenda, Candy, Wendy, and Mabel went off to have some “girl time”, while Stan stayed at the Shack to run it, and Ford and Dipper went off exploring the town with their new journals. Ford had developed some odd hand-held machines they used to detect anomalies nearby, and they were using them to navigate through the woods.  Already they’d found some remaining eye-bats, plus a blue deer-like creature with five tails. (It also appeared to spit acid. Ford and Dipper thought it would be best to study it from a distance.) It was late when they headed back into town, still following a trail. Ford decided he’d go back to the Shack to record everything in his journal, so now Dipper was tracking whatever it was by himself. Dipper guessed he looked pretty bizarre, walking around downtown with a pen behind his ear, journal under his arm, and a beeping device in his hand, but the townsfolk had seen stranger. He was staring at the device in his hand, not paying attention to where he was going, and proceeded to walk straight into someone. Dipper’s notes, which were ever so carefully placed in the pages of his journal, went flying, as did Dipper himself, although he did not land as gracefully as the papers. “Oh, my goodness, I am  _ such  _ a klutz, I’m so sorry, sir!” He rambled, chasing down the pages that were blowing away in the breeze. The man he’d run into laughed. “It’s no big deal. Need any help?” Dipper glanced up and froze. Standing above him was the most gorgeous man Dipper had ever laid eyes on.

 

He looked a couple years older than Dipper, so maybe eighteen or nineteen, tall, and had brilliantly golden fluffy hair swept over one side of his face, obscuring his left eye. His visible eye was a bright, almost unnatural shade of bright blue speckled with yellow. His skin was snow-pale, accenting the gold of his hair. He wore a simple yellow hoodie, black skinny jeans, and blue sneakers, the shoelaces of which undone. Dangling from his neck was a bronze triangular pendant attached to a thin gold chain. His hands were tucked in the pockets of his hoodie as he gazed down at the now-speechless brunette. “Uh...some...some help would be great!” Dipper managed to squeak out, breaking eye contact with the stranger, who smiled and crouched down to help him pick up the scattered notes. Once they were all gathered, the stranger handed them back to Dipper, who awkwardly tucked them back in his journal. While doing so, the sleeve of his slightly-too-small hoodie pulled up, revealing the small blue tattoo on his wrist. The stranger’s eye widened. “Pine Tree?” He asked. Dipper froze. “Uh...what’d you say?” The stranger blinked. Glanced down at Dipper’s wrist, then back to his face. “Er...the tattoo. On your wrist. It’s a pine tree, right?” Dipper narrowed his eyes. “Yeah.” The stranger’s hands returned to the hoodie pockets. “May I inquire why a pine tree?” Dipper looked at the tattoo. A small smile turned up the corners of his mouth. “A reminder. The apocalypse that happened here a few years ago. I had a part to play in ending it. I was part of the Cipher wheel. This,” He said, holding up his wrist, “Was my mark. The Pine Tree. My sister has a Shooting Star on hers.” Some sort of surprised recognition flashed through the visible eye of the stranger, but Dipper didn’t notice, or if he did, paid no attention to it. “I’m Dipper, by the way. Dipper Pines.” The stranger looked startled. “Oh. Uh...I’m...William. Nice to meet you.” 

  
  


And...that was the exact moment Bill knew he messed up. Naturally, the time he chose to “wake up”, the Pines twins had returned. It was a strange feeling, he thought, the feeling of someone being nice to him. Especially Dipper. Bill hadn’t thought anyone had hated him any more than Dipper did. He assumed it was because Dipper - hopefully - had no idea who he was actually talking to. And at first, Bill hadn’t known he was talking to Pine Tree. Of course he knew that humans changed over time, but he hadn’t really imagined Dipper aging. Or changing as much as he had. The twelve year old he’d known was short. And scrawny. How very different from the taller, stronger young man staring up at him with deep, hypnotizing brown eyes. He thought he’d add this to his list of things in Gravity Falls that confused him. Number one on that list was the fact he was, well,  _ human. _ Imagine his shock when he woke up in the middle of the forest, curled in a fetal position on the ground. He had screamed, realizing how his form had changed, and he was, in fact, a meatsuit. And the worst part? He had almost no magic. The only things he could still do were as listed:

 

  1. Change eye from human to slit-pupiled
  2. Summon a single flame on one finger. (And even that was a 50/50 chance)
  3. Give people severe headaches.



 

Bill thought the most useful of those was the fact he could give people magical headaches. 

 

The rest were fucking useless. 

 

Bill didn’t like being useless. He hated it. 

 

And he would do anything to stop being useless, even if it included doing something stupid. That something stupid being, at the moment, attempting to start a conversation with Dipper Pines, who was  _ finally _ putting away that infernal machine that  _ would not stop beeping. _ He was almost tempted to smash it with his foot, but that would probably make Dipper angry, and seeing as the last time that happened, Bill’s molecules had ended up floating in between dimensions for five years, he decided he was going to try and  _ never _ piss Dipper - or the rest of his family - off again. As much as he kind of hated to admit it, Bill was scared of Dipper. He liked Mabel enough, although she did rather scare him sometimes. She was a weird kind of crazy. Bill certainly wasn’t looking forward to possibly running into her again. In fact, he hoped he could just avoid the Pines for the entire summer. Except maybe Dipper. As long as Dipper didn’t find out this so called “William” was actually Bill. That would end very,  _ very _ badly. Dipper pulled a phone out of a pocket in his cargo pants. “Ah, shoot, I should probably be going home now. First day back. Maybe I’ll see you around…?” He pondered, raising his eyebrows in a hopeful gesture. Bill smiled nervously, fiddling with the triangle necklace. “Um...yeah. I guess so.” Dipper’s eyes lit up and he waved happily as he pivoted on a heel and walked away, a definite spring in his step. Bill wasn’t sure if that symbolized something or if Dipper was just like that. He hadn’t paid much attention the first time they’d met. He had been too busy trying to kill him. Shaking his head to clear it, Bill turned away from Dipper’s retreating back and set off in the other direction. 

  
  


Dipper couldn’t get William out of his head. He was hypnotizing. Utterly flawless, in Dipper’s eyes. Even more so than Henry Daniels, Dipper’s crush from school. Will seemed nice, too. Not a total jerk who knew he was attractive and rubbed it into everyone’s face. Maybe a little awkward, but so was Dipper when it came to talking to anyone attractive, regardless of gender. He envied Mabel for her easy, if not sudden, approach on talking to people. Okay, maybe he was a  _ little  _ in over his head. He’d only just met the guy, after all. And barely talked to him, but he couldn’t help it. He felt giddy with excitement at the thought of seeing him again, and the last time he’d felt like that, he’d had a crush on Wendy. 

 

Back at the Mystery Shack, Dipper let out a sigh as he placed his new journal and Anomaly Detector on the table to the left of his bed. Mabel was already curled up under her blankets, an arm over the sleeping Waddles. Her eyes were closed and her chest was rising and falling softly. She looked content. Dipper smiled slightly as he changed into his sleep shirt and climbed into his own bed. He took his glasses off, set them beside the journal and Anomaly Detector, and stared at the out of focus ceiling. The familiar sweet smell of pine trees, sap, soil, and mountain air drifted in through the open window, bringing back the memories of his twelve-year-old self, who had had no idea what was in store for him as he fell asleep in this very bed his first night in this peculiar town. Dipper’s eyes began to close.  _ It’s so good to be back. I forgot how much I missed this place.  _ A happy smile on his face, Dipper drifted off to sleep, images of his past adventures still playing in his mind, mixed with fantasies of what could happen this time. 


	2. Lovely Day for a Hike?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the second day of summer, the twins decide to spend a few hours hiking in the woods surrounding the town. Along the way, they run into the remnants of an old friend, although that term might be a little inaccurate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Just wanted to thank all of you guys for all the Kudos and Hits the first chapter got!

The next morning, Dipper woke to the smell of pancakes- or maybe waffles? - wafting up from the kitchen downstairs. That and the irritatingly bright light streaming through the window, reminding Dipper he’d forgotten his sleep mask in his bag, which he’d dumped at the foot of his bed. He groped around beside him, searching for his glasses. He knocked them off the table instead. “Ah, shit.” He cursed, leaning over the side of the bed to find them, promptly falling off his bed in a heap. He groaned. Just woke up and already messed something up. Finally finding his glasses (which had been knocked under his bed), he stumbled out of the attic and down to the kitchen, nearly falling on his face at the bottom. Mabel was, as Dipper had guessed, cooking pancakes. She waved the flipper at him. “Good morning, Dipdop! Care for some special pancakes?” She said cheerfully. Dipper plopped down on a chair. “As long as there’s no glitter in them, gladly.” He replied. Mabel giggled. “Fine, fine. No glitter. Oh, by the way, Ford left an hour ago and Stan’s already running tours.” Dipper frowned. “Where’d Ford go?” His sister shrugged. “Didn’t say. But hey, I thought we could spend the day together! I mean, it’s a totally new experience now! We’re teens, we can do what we please now! Whaddya say?” Dipper grinned. “Sounds like a plan.” Mabel clapped, sending raw batter from the flipper flying. Dipper ducked away from a flying gob of pancake. “Watch where you’re flinging that thing.” “Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Now,” Mabel flipped a pancake rather impressively onto a plate and handed it to Dipper, “Tell me about your little escapade with Ford yesterday.” Dipper snorted. “Are you actually interested? I thought you didn’t like our ‘nerd stuff’.” Mabel turned back to the stove. “I don’t. But I  _ do _ enjoy all the wacky stuff in this town, so shoot.” Dipper dumped maple syrup onto his pancake. “Alright, alright.”

Mabel slid into the chair across from him and reached across the table for the syrup. “Okay, so Ford invented these machines to track anomalies, right?”

 

“If you say so.”

 

“So we started in the forest, these things in our hands, and they’re mainly silent, when all of a sudden we pass this cave and both of the devices go  _ nuts. _ Obviously they detected something, so we go into the cave, and this  _ huge _ swarm of eyebats come swooping at us, all wings and eyes. I mean, there were tons! Ford and I got out of there pretty quick, to say the least.”

 

“No kidding. Pass the whipped cream.” 

 

Dipper handed it over to her and continued talking, making flamboyant hand gestures to accent when something happened. 

 

“I mean, how were we supposed to know it spat acid? We just walk up to it, all calm, when it suddenly just  _ spat. _ Ford’s coat was smoking, my hair nearly got an unplanned cut, it was awful! And then it started to chase us, so we ran! And we kept running, until that thing was out of sight. Both of us were dying of laughter, of course. If I had my journal, I’d show you the picture of the damn thing, cuz lemme tell you, having whatever it was come at you like that, you might actually like one of Bill’s henchmaniacs. That thing was the devil.” 

 

Mabel snorted as she finished off her stack of pancakes. “From what you described, I hope I don’t run into it. Why were you home so late? Was it the demonic deer?” 

 

Dipper hesitated, then shook his head. “No, I was following another trail. Ford came home early. I guess I got sidetracked or something.”

 

“Sidetracked with what?”

Dipper pursed his lips. “I...ran into someone…” 

 

“Who?”

 

“Just some guy. Uh...not important.” 

 

“Tell me.”

 

“Why?”   
  


“I wanna know. You have that look in your eyes again.”

 

“What look?”   
  


“That look you get when you’re talking about someone you like.”

 

Dipper blushed. “Shut up, Mabel.”

 

“Fine. After you tell me.”

 

“Okay, okay! I ran into a guy, and maybe I have a hardcore crush on him. Shut up.”

 

“You ran into someone and fell in love with them? Sounds like the start of a romcom story.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but if you saw him, you’d be in the same situation.”

 

“Please tell me you at least got the guy’s name…?”

 

“Yeah. It’s William.”

 

“Cute.”

 

Dipper speared the final piece of pancake on his fork. “Yup. Now, where do you want to go first?”

 

“Dunno. There’s always the lake, we could go for a hike, the pool….you choose.”

 

“In that case, let’s go on a hike. We can go up to a cave I found.”

 

Mabel pointed her fork at him. “Not the eyebat one?”

 

“No. I’m gonna get changed. Should we pack a picnic?”

 

“Yeah, I think so. I’ll make sandwiches.”

 

Dipper stood up and picked up his dishes. “Great. Back in a few.” He set his dishes in the sink and wandered back upstairs to their bedroom. He rifled through his bag for a clean shirt and pair of pants, settling on a dark green t-shirt and blue cargo shorts. He donned his blue pine tree hat, which Wendy had returned to him. They’d decided it would be a tradition to switch hats whenever they saw each other over the summer. Scooping his backpack up from the floor and dumping the unnecessary objects out onto the bed, he slipped his journal, ink pens, camera, extra sweater, glasses case, and first-aid kit into the pockets. You never knew what you could run into. As an afterthought, he slid a utility knife into the side pocket and swung the backpack up onto his back and ran back downstairs. Mabel was packing her own backpack by the door. She looked up as he approached. She’d donned a green camo army jacket over a purple t-shirt. At the moment, she was shoving the sweater she’d been wearing into her pack. Why she thought it necessary to bring a jacket  _ and _ one of her wool sweaters in plus thirty weather, Dipper wasn’t sure, but he said nothing, to avoid one of her lectures about the importance of...well, whatever she found important at that particular moment. One time it had been about glitter. (Long story.) “You ready?” Dipper asked. Mabel zipped her backpack up. “Yep! I have our lunches, my camera, two sweaters, and some rope!”  _ Ah.  _ Two _ sweaters. Of course. Why not,  _ Dipper thought. “Awesome. Alright, let’s go!” The twins bustled out the door. Mabel sent a quick text to Stan, letting him know where they were. “Okay, the trail’s up this way.” Dipper pointed to a hill rising up from somewhere behind the Mystery Shack. “It gets pretty steep, so you better have brought good walking shoes.” Mabel snorted. “Bro, I never take my hiking boots off. Do you know who I am?” “Just a precaution, Mabel. Come on.” The duo started off towards the hill. Halfway up, Mabel stopped and looked around. “Dipper, have we been up here before?” Dipper, who’d been investigating a strange set of footprints, swiveled to look at his sister. “Maybe. Why?” Mabel shook her head. “It seems familiar, for some reason. Ah well, it’s the forest. I’m probably getting it mixed up. Let’s continue.” Dipper shrugged and continued walking, still studying the footprints. Mabel hurried to catch up. 

 

Along the way, Dipper would point out random paths and objects to his sister, explaining each of them.  _ That _ pathway lead to a cavern of pixies, and  _ that  _ one would lead to an endless array of constantly shifting paths, created to confuse anyone who took a wrong turn. He suggested they steer clear of it. After about two and a half hours of walking, Mabel suggested they find somewhere to eat lunch. Dipper realized just how hungry he’d been getting from walking. He agreed. They walked for about, say, twenty minutes before Mabel saw a clearing up ahead. She wandered around it, looking for a good spot to sit that wasn’t wet, full of bugs, or muddy. Dipper had pulled his camera out of his pack and was now snapping pictures of the landscape. Mabel froze suddenly. “Dipper...come here…” Dipper lowered his camera and cautiously walked over to her. She was pointing at a clump of long grasses and bushes just outside of the circular clearing they were standing in, the plants clustered around a strangely-shaped stone. “That’s not…” Mabel narrowed her eyes. “Yep.” Dipper sighed and trudged toward the grass, stopping in front of the statue of their old nemesis. “Well. Time’s certainly served him well.” He bent down and looked the stone figure in the eye. “This is what you get for messing with us, Cipher.” He stood up again. “I think we should-” He cut himself off, seeing a weird metallic glint by his feet.  _ Huh?  _ Leaning over, he brushed away some mud that was covering a gold necklace. Frowning, he scooped it up and let it dangle by the chain. “What’s that?” Mabel inquired. Dipper tilted his head. “I guess someone lost their necklace. Wonder what they were doing over here...you’d think no one would want to get this close to Bill. Yeesh.” Mabel shrugged. “Maybe they were like us. Looking for adventure, that sorta stuff.” Dipper whistled and pocketed the necklace. “Yeah, maybe. Well, let’s find somewhere else to eat. I don’t want to feel like sir dorito here is watching me.” Mabel nodded. “I will have nothing to do with him. Let’s go.” The twins sauntered away, leaving the statue behind. Neither of them noticed the scorch marks on the surrounding trees, or the shape of someone slinking away through the brush, who didn’t notice them either. 

 

Dipper had recognized the necklace, but he couldn’t place where he’d seen it before. Someone had been wearing it, that was certain… The necklace itself was a pretty goldish-bronze colour, with a long chain and a triangular pendant. The chain was roped around though the middle of the pendant. Oh. Of course. William had been wearing it yesterday. He’d been fiddling with it. But what was William doing up by the Cipher statue? Dipper decided he’d leave that mystery til later. And besides, it wasn’t  _ really _ his problem. William could do what he wanted. Dipper would stay out of it. He pushed those thoughts out of his head. Today was about twin time, not the guy he met yesterday. Mabel stopped suddenly with her hands on her hips. Dipper crashed right into her. “Mabel! The heck was that for?” Mabel ignored him, spreading her hands. “I think this’ll do.” She traipsed over to a fallen tree and dropped her backpack against it. Dipper rubbed his nose from where he’d smacked it against Mabel’s pack. “Ouch.” Mabel rolled her eyes, fishing around in her bag for the lunches and blanket. She found them and threw the blanket at Dipper, who snatched out of the air and unfolded it. “So, what’d you pack?” He asked, laying the blanket across the mossy ground. “Egg salad sandwiches, the cookies I baked last night, some strawberries, blueberries.” Dipper raised an eyebrow. “When the hell did you bake cookies?” Mabel looked at him. “You were gone basically the whole day, Dipdop. I had time.” “Eh. I guess.” His sister grinned and tossed him a sandwich packaged in a plastic baggie. “Eat up.” She opened hers and started munching away at it. Dipper smiled as he took a bite out of his. 

The spot they’d picked was on one side of a stream, making the ground a little damper than preferred, but it was pretty. Up on the top of a hill, they could see the surrounding landscape. The sunlight streamed through the branches of the trees, casting puzzle-like shadows across the grass. Despite having been gone for five years, it felt like Dipper had never left. He didn’t want to leave again, once this summer was over.  _ Stop thinking about the end of the summer, Dipper. You haven’t even been back for two days,  _ he thought to himself. Mabel crunched happily on her sandwich while she gazed out over the valley. “It was a good idea to come out for a hike today. It’s lovely out!” Dipper nodded in agreement, his mouth still full of sandwich. He swallowed and responded. “Yeah, I think it’s a nice way to get back into the rhythm of Gravity Falls. Although this summer’s sure gonna be a lot different. I feel like we’ve discovered most of the mysteries already. I wonder if there’s anything new to explore…” He trailed off. Mabel giggled. “Please. This is Gravity Falls! It’s basically the weirdest place on Earth. There’s always going to be something new.” “Yeah, you’re right. What am I talking about? I wonder what adventures await us.” Mabel smiled slyly. “Well, you might have some sort of romance…” Dipper punched her in the shoulder. “Okay, enough with that. You haven’t even met him yet. And I’ve seen him  _ once. _ ” Mabel turned away and shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s a small town. It’s not like you won’t run into each other again! And when you do, I’ll make my move!” Dipper stopped eating, casting his sister a suspicious look.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

 

“I’m going to make him fall in love with you, silly! It’s my specialty.”

 

“Mabel, I’d like you to stay out of my love life, please and thank you…”

 

“Okay, okay. I’ll just watch from afar. That can’t hurt.”

 

Dipper didn’t try to argue with her. Mabel was almost impossible to beat in an argument. (She was on the debate team at their school and had yet to lose.) He decided to simply not tell her about his love life, although she was guaranteed to find out despite anything he tried, but there was nothing he could do about that. 

 

After they finished eating and packed up the remainder of their things, the twins started to head back home, seeing rainclouds approaching. And while it would be lovely to have rain, being in the middle of a forest during a thunderstorm was really not the best decision. That and neither of them had brought proper rain gear on the hike. It didn’t seem like they’d need it. Now they were jogging back through the forest, trying very hard not to overbalance and fall down the hill. Dipper slipped and fell in a mud puddle, causing Mabel to break out into fits of laughter until she too fell into a puddle. That shut her up pretty quick. Covered in mud and grass, the twins trudged back to the Mystery Shack. Stanley was still directing tours, so they waved a quick hello before darting inside to get changed out of their muddy clothes. Seeing as there was still quite a bit of time before the sun set, the twins set off into the town. Dipper still had William’s necklace in the pocket of his sweater. He was hoping to see him again. 

 

The town was bustling with people, both citizens and tourists. Some the Pines recognized, others were new. Dipper wondered how many people had moved to Gravity Falls in the time they’d been gone. Or how many had left. He couldn’t blame them, for it would’ve been hard to live in a town you’d seen destroyed by a maniacal yellow triangle. But Dipper loved the adventures Gravity Falls had brought him. The friends. The fact that he could actually say he had an arch-enemy who wasn’t just some jerk from High School. Not that he’d actually like to run into said enemy, but it was still fun to say. Mabel skipped along beside him, chattering on and on about all the fun stuff she was planning for the summer. Dipper was hardly listening, so their conversation went a little like this:

 

“My friends and I are gonna take over the living room and binge-watch our TV shows, so stay out of there for a while, kay?”

 

“Okay.” 

 

“And I’m going to make a bunch of new sweaters for everyone! I was thinking I’d make one for you, seeing as you don’t have one yet! That’s actually rather surprising, I’ve lived with you for seventeen years…”

 

“That’s cool.”

 

“Maybe I’ll go boating. Ride out and have a picnic out at Scuttlebutt Island…heh. That name, I’m sorry. Scuttlebutt. Okay, I’m done.”

 

“That might not work.”

 

“I’m gonna give up on the whole ‘Summer Romance’ thing and leave that to you!”

 

“Eh. Maybe in a while.”

 

“And then-Dipper, are you even listening to me?”

 

“Wha-?”

 

“Dipper!”

 

At that point she punched him in the arm, snapping him out of his daze. He blinked. “Sorry, what was that?” Mabel scoffed. “Nevermind.” Dipper opened his mouth to reply, but cut himself off short, seeing a familiar blonde sitting on a bench across the street. He gulped, feeling heat rise to his face. “Mabel…” “What?” “Uh...y’know William? The guy I was talking about earlier?” 

 

“Of course.”

 

“He’s sitting across the street.”

  
  


Bill had had a very bizarre day. It got even weirder when a very red Dipper Pines stumbled up in front of him. He was holding something in the palm of a hand. “U-uh...hey, William...do you...remember me? From yesterday?”  _ Yes, Pine Tree, I remember you. You’re not exactly someone I could forget.  _ “Yes, your name is Dipper, correct?” Dipper flushed. “Uh, yeah...sorry to bother you, but I think you dropped this…?” He held out his hand, letting a triangle on a gold chain tumble out. Bill blinked. His necklace? He hadn’t realized he’d forgot it when...oh, heavens above,  _ please _ do not have let the Pines find out… “Oh, thank you! I was looking for that!”

Making very awkward eye contact with Dipper, Bill took the necklace from him. The young brunette was bright red and looked quickly away from Bill, who wondered why Dipper was acting so strangely. He supposed he was safe from them figuring out his identity, as if they knew, Bill assumed he would probably be getting chased around the town pursued by two seventeen year olds wielding memory guns. At the moment, however, he couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Dipper. Of course, Bill was new to being human. Maybe it was some “emotion” only humans felt. 

 

After a few minutes of extreme awkward silence, the young woman standing behind Dipper threw her hands in the air. “Okay! That’s enough, you two!” She pushed past Dipper and stood in front of Bill with her hands placed on her hips. Bill blinked in surprise, for the young woman was Mabel Pines. She too looked very different, and there was some aura to her that seemed...dangerous. Bill kept from shuddering as Mabel looked him up and down, lips pursed. “It’s William, right?” She inquired, still checking him over. “Um...yeah…?”  _ Oh shit please don’t tell me she knows… _ “Great. Look, William, my nerdy brother here has talked about you nonstop this whole afternoon, and I’m getting a liiiiittle sick of it. So, I’m just gonna ask you this right here, right now.”  _ Oh shit oh shit oh shit what’s she gonna say?!  _ Instead of maintaining her serious demeanor, a slow smile spread across Mabel’s face. “Will you go out for coffee with Dipper?”  _ Coffee? What’s coffee? Some human ritual? Eh, better give it a go. I’m trying to learn how to be human, aren’t I?  _ Bill shrugged. “Sure, why not?” 

 

There was a strange warbling choke from behind Mabel. It took Bill a couple seconds to realize it came from Dipper. 

 

Mabel glanced over her shoulder at her brother, who was staring at her with a horrified expression on his face. He tried to say something, but all that came out was another undignified squeak. Mabel rolled her eyes. “Awesome! How does around twelve sound? You could just pop by the Mystery Shack to meet him. I’ll sort out the rest with Dipdop later.” 

 

“Twelve sounds lovely. I guess I’ll see you then?” 

  
“Indeed. Come on, Dippingsauce, we have stuff to plan!” Mabel sang, steering her brother off. A couple minutes later, Bill heard Dipper’s voice yell “Mabel, what the  _ heck  _ did you just do?!”, which made Bill a little worried, but he chose to ignore it, instead wondering what exactly this “coffee” thing actually was. _Well,_ he mused, _I guess I’ll find out tomorrow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this took way longer to update than it should've. Sorry bout that. Now that I myself am on summer break, I'll have more time to write this, so hopefully the wait won't be so long in between chapters. Speaking of which, I am not looking forward to writing the next one. That'll be difficult.


	3. First Dates are Always Awkward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Mabel asks William out on Dipper's behalf, much to his annoyance, Dipper tries to keep things cute and not mess up.
> 
> Bill, on the other hand, has no clue what "getting coffee" means, nor can he figure out the feelings he's getting while he's near Dipper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I lied, I took longer to post this than I said I would. My bad.
> 
> As always, thanks for the love this fic has been getting, and enjoy the awkwardness of the Dream Demon and the Pine Tree.

 

Dipper was far from pleased with his sister. He asked her to stay out of his love life and instead she barged right in with party balloons and a sledge hammer. Now she was chatting on and on about how  _ cute _ Dipper and William would be together, while Dipper smouldered with rage in front of her. It took all his strength to not punch her in the face. What part of her thought what she just did was okay? William probably thought they were both insane. 

 

Sure, he  _ wanted _ to date William, because he was cute as hell and from the two conversations they’d had he seemed nice, but  _ if he was going to date someone,  _ he _ liked to ask them, not have his _ sister _ do it.  _ Maybe he was actually angry at himself for being so awkward and not having the courage to ask William himself. He attempted to drone out Mabel’s babble, but to no avail. That girl could talk for hours and never get bored or lose a topic. It’d been that way since she learned how to talk. (Dipper still hadn’t found a way to shut her up, and it’d been sixteen years.) He stood up suddenly. “Okay, Mabel, that’s enough. I don’t need to “plan” anything. We’re going out for coffee. I’ll wear what I want, say what I want, and not let anyone else interfere. Now if you’d excuse me, I need to go to sleep. Goodnight, Mabel.” His sister protested, stating that he needed to think about what he was doing. Dipper ignored her and stormed up to their bedroom, slamming the door behind him. As he flopped over on his bed with a groan, his phone buzzed. Wendy had texted him.

 

W:  _ Heard you got a date?  _

 

Dipper cracked a smile and replied.

 

D: _ Sure did. Mabel asked the guy out for me. Not 100% pleased with her ATM.  _

 

W:  _ Is he cute? _

 

D:  _ Hell yeah. Lookin forward to seeing him again!!! _

 

W:  _ Aw. What’s his name? _

 

D:  _ William.  _

 

W:  _ Huh, wonder if I’ve met him. _

 

D:  ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 

W:  _ You’d better tell me everything when you get back, kay? _

 

D:  _ Yeah, yeah, alright.  _

 

W:  _ TTYL, then? Gotta go. _

 

D:  _ K. Talk to you tomorrow! _

 

W:  _ Damn right you will. I need the details, man.  _

 

D:  _ Goodnight, Wendy… _

 

W:  _ Ha ha! Night, Dip.  _

 

Dipper smiled as he plugged his phone in beside him. The day had been interesting, that’s for sure. Tomorrow would be even more so, he hoped. He didn’t even bother to change into his pyjamas, just pulled off his jeans and shirt and pulled the covers up. He was out as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

  
  


Naturally, he had yet another rude awakening. This time by Mabel, standing over his bed with her hands on her hips. “Dipper Pines! It is eleven thirty two in the morning, and your date is coming at twelve! Get  _ up! _ ”

“Mmph. Maaabel...five more minutes?”

“UP. NOW.”

“Alright, alriiight. Calm down, sis.” Dipper grumbled, swinging his legs off the bed and yawning. “Where’re my glasses? I can’t see shit.”

 

Mabel shoved his glasses onto his face. And poked him in the eye with the frames. Twice. 

 

“Ow. Okay, I’m up, I’m up.”

 

“Good! Now, puh- _ lease _ don’t wear that raggedy old sweater of yours! It’s too small and has holes in it!”

 

“Well, what else am I supposed to wear? I like my hoodie.”

 

“Pff, I know. Go get yourself cleaned up. Take a shower. I’m finding you an outfit that isn’t horrible.”

 

“Wow. I feel attacked.”

 

“Shower. Now. And comb your hair! You look like a porcupine!”

 

Dipper stuck his tongue out at her and went to use the bathroom. She was right, though, he admitted to himself as he turned the hot water on in the shower. His hair did get  _ very _ spiky when he slept on it. Hopefully it’d flatten a bit once he washed it. Checking the water’s temperature, he undressed completely and stepped into the tub, letting the water run down his back. He took a couple deep breaths to clear his mind, which had been basically screaming thoughts of “ _ Oh no, what if you embarrass yourself in front of William? What if he thinks you’re stupid?! Dipper, this is going to go terribly!”  _ He ran a hand through his wet hair and told himself firmly, “ _ No, it’ll go fine. William said yes to going with you. He must’ve seen something in you.  _ Don’t. Worry. _ ”  _

 

After Mabel pounded on the door and yelled that he was taking too long, Dipper reluctantly got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist and pulled a comb through his hair, flattening down the remaining porcupine spikes. He’d let it air-dry for a bit while he got dressed. Walking out of the bathroom, he went back to their room to see Mabel throwing clothes everywhere. “Mabel! What the hell are you doing?” Mabel didn’t look at him as she answered. “Finding you a different hoodie. I know you have one, but I can’t find it!” Dipper sighed. “Mabel. You’re kneeling on it.” Mabel looked down. “Oh yeah. There it is. Ugh, Dipper, how many blue sweaters do you  _ have? _ ”    
“Two, Mabel. And I only brought one.”

“No, you brought two, so you have three!”

“The other one’s turquoise.”

“Wow. What a difference. I laid out an outfit for you. Put it on and I’ll do your hair, m’kay?”

“Mabel, I’m wearing my hat.”

“Not today, sugar. That old thing is staying here.”

“You’re being mean.”

“Clothes, Dipper. Go put the clothes on.”

 

Surprisingly, the outfit Mabel had picked out was actually something Dipper would wear. He’d kinda expected her to try and force him into wearing a pink shirt that said  _ Boyfriend Material _ on it or something. No, she’d picked out grey skinny jeans, his dark green  _ Lord of the Rings _ shirt, and a whittled pine tree necklace. (Where she found it, Dipper didn’t know, but he didn’t question it and wore it anyway.) He pulled the pants on and did up the buttons. “Wow, I’m impressed. You actually found something I’ll enjoy wearing!” Mabel laughed. “Yay me! Oh,  _ here _ we go!” Mabel spun around, holding a black and white sweater. “This is perfect! Throw this on over top, and it’ll be grand!” Dipper wrinkled his nose at her as he snatched the hoodie out of her hands. He pulled it on over his shirt. “Okay, am I good?” His twin stood back and looked at him from head to toe, lips pursed. “Decent. Lemme dry your hair, and  _ then _ you’ll be just  _ perfect _ !”

 

Dipper really didn’t like how eager Mabel was about this. 

 

***

Bill, in the meantime, had absolutely no clue as to how the heck he was supposed to get ready. From the way Dipper had reacted when Mabel had asked Bill, he got the idea that “coffee” was important, so he assumed his usual white shirt and yellow hoodie would not be suitable. After a lot of wandering around, he found a more decent shirt in a small shop, a baby-blue tee with tiny silver rhinestones along the collar. (Bill had also discovered he was rather good at pickpocketing people.) As an afterthought, he tied his hoodie around his waist, to show off his shirt. With no long sleeves now, the gold bracelets on his wrists were visible.

 

He wasn’t exactly sure why he’d reformed with a shit ton of jewelry - there had to be at least six bracelets on each wrist -, but he was actually growing fond of it. Then again, he still wasn’t sure why he’d reformed as a human in the first place, but seeing as there was not really anything he could do about it at that particular moment, he pushed the thought out of his head and bent down to tie his sneakers. (After a rather nasty incident involving some stairs, undone shoelaces, and certain clumsy blond meatsuit, Bill realized it was best to keep the sneakers tied.) Checking himself over in a mirror one last time, Bill reached up and flattened the fluffy fringe of gold over his left eye. That was something he was rather nervous about anyone seeing. As he left the store, he glanced up at the clocktower. 11: 49. He had ten minutes to meet Dipper at the Shack. 

 

And he had no idea how to get there from where he was. He ended up asking for directions, which was very awkward, seeing as the only humans he’d talked to since his reformation were the Pines twins. Despite this, however, he got directions and was able to find his way through the woods. 

 

It had been a long time since he’d seen the place.

 

Plus it seemed a lot smaller. Bill blamed that on his useless new form. 

 

He was about to walk up to the door when a thought he hadn’t previously considered crossed his mind. 

 

Five years back, just before Bill had opened the rift, the Pines had created a force field around the Shack, blocking out all things weird. The main thing being Bill Cipher, who was now standing a couple feet away from the Mystery Shack looking perplexed.  _ The hell do I do now? Stand here like an idiot until Pine Tree comes out? _

 

Yep.

 

That’s exactly what he did. There was a chance he  _ could _ pass through the force field, seeing as he was, technically, human, but regarding the fact he still had a small (very unhelpful)  reserve of magic, he didn’t fancy getting clocked in the face by a magical glowing force field. 

 

So there he stood. Very awkwardly.

 

Maybe five or ten minutes later, the house door opened and Dipper walked out, smiling as his eyes fell on Bill. 

 

He’d replaced his baseball cap - something Bill had never seen him take off and for their first couple meetings he had assumed it was attached to his head - with a floppy black beanie. Under a black unzipped hoodie, he wore a forest-green shirt with some sort of ancient script on it. Bill didn’t recognize it, which made him slightly uncomfortable. It was written in a circle, the middle of which emblazoned with a single fiery eye. (Bill thought for just a moment it was  _ his _ eye, but then again, why would Dipper have a shirt like that?) 

 

Through the screen door Bill could see Mabel waving at him cheerfully. He nervously waved back. 

 

Dipper approached Bill slowly, his nervousness clearly visible in the way his fingers would be tapping against his leg, or rubbing the wooden pendant around his neck. 

 

“Er...good afternoon, William!” He squeaked, then blushed vividly, presumably at the way his voice had rather dramatically changed octaves.

 

Bill smiled. “Good afternoon, Dipper. How are you today?”

 

Dipper opened his mouth, paused, then continued. “Not gonna lie, I’m nervous. Very nervous,” He chuckled. “It’s been a while since I’ve gone out with someone.” 

 

Bill dipped his head in understanding. He was nervous too. 

 

“Anyways, uh, I was thinking we could go to this little café that just opened. It’s maybe a fifteen minute walk from here.”

 

Bill shrugged. “Sounds good. Lead the way, for I have no idea where I’m going.”

 

A smile split Dipper’s face and he laughed, a clear, bright sound that brought a strange feeling to Bill’s new heart. He couldn’t quite place what “emotion” it was, if it was an emotion at all. 

 

The pair started walking to the town. Dipper asked Bill what he was interested in.  _ World domination.  _ No, that would be a bad kind-of-first impression. Instead, he replied “Reading. I like seeing the world in different ways.” Not entirely true, but not false, either. He had visited the library a few times, found a couple books that were worth reading. 

 

That certainly got Dipper talking. He started going on about his favourite books, and the intricate details and plot lines that wove into them. By the time they reached their destination, Bill had learned Dipper liked mystery novels, particularly those with plot twists. (He also mentioned he was actually a big sucker for romance novels.) He studied creative writing in school, and planned on being a science fiction writer when he graduated.

 

Aside from his books and stories, though, he was working towards a PhD in Chemistry, Biology, and Physics. He was already the top of his class, and had been offered a scholarship at one of the best colleges in the state. Bill was thoroughly impressed. The kid was practically a mini Stanford, who, despite all of Bill’s tricks and lies, actually  _ was _ one of the smartest humans Bill had ever met.

 

The little café Dipper had mentioned was a small shop on the corner of a street. Dipper opened the door for Bill, allowing him to enter first. The interior was quite cozy, decorated with plump brown armchairs and dark wooden tables. There was a fireplace set into the wall on the far side. They chose a little booth by the window, and sat down opposite each other. Bill fixed his hair again, hoping it was still hiding his eye. The place was peaceful, Bill decided. Calm. And nothing like what he expected. Unfortunately, Bill had no idea what to do. Dipper was looking at a laminated something-or-other, which was covered in pictures and words. Bill had one too, so he copied the young brunet. The pictures were of mugs filled with various different colours. Drinks, apparently.  _ What the heck is going on?  _ Eventually, a young woman wearing an apron approached with a notepad. “Hello, boys! What can I get for you today?” She inquired cheerfully. Dipper smiled. “Just a Cappuccino for me, thanks.” The girl scribbled something down on her pad and turned to Bill “And you?” Bill flushed.  _ Someone help me… _ “Um...I don’t know…” The girl giggled. “Oh, well, let me suggest a simple iced latte. It’s my personal favourite.” Bill nodded slowly. “I’ll get that, then. Thank you.” The waitress beamed and skipped off to the kitchen.

 

Bill turned back to see Dipper staring intently at him. “Dipper?” He said, waving a hand. Dipper shook himself out of his apparent daze and flushed. “So sorry. I daydream a lot. Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?” Bill raised an eyebrow. “Sure. What?” Dipper pursed his lips. “Do you just style your hair like that, or is something wrong with your eye? No offense, of course, I’m just wondering. You’ve been flattening it down a lot, like you’re worried about something.” He finished quickly. Bill smirked. “Yeah, it’s damaged. Can’t see out of it.” Dipper nodded. “That makes sense. What happened?” 

 

“Uh, Weirdmaggedon. Couple years back. I got injured. Even after everything was reversed, I was still half-blind.” Dipper made a hissing noise. “Ooh. That sucks. That was certainly an event I won’t forget.” 

“Me neither.”

“At least that damned triangle won’t be coming back.”

Bill half-smiled.  _ Oh, Pine Tree, if only you knew.  _ “That’s certainly a good thing.” 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly happened to you during Weirdmaggedon? Did you manage to escape getting turned to stone, or...not?”  _ No, I survived that bit, seeing as it was me having people be turned to stone in the first place, but afterwards...not so much.  _ “You might say I was right in the center of it all.” He replied in what he hoped was a steady tone. Apparently, lying in a human body was a lot harder than lying and deceiving in his original form. There were so many things to watch out for- shaking hands, tightness of the lips, unable to make eye contact...man, Bill  _ really _ missed his true body. Things were so much more fun with it.

 

“Aw, sorry to hear that.” Dipper shuddered. “But let’s not continue talking about that awful time. I don’t want those three years of therapy to be for nothing.” 

 

Bill was grateful to change the subject. He didn’t want to think about it either. At that moment, their waitress - whose name was Tori, according to her nametag - bounced back to their table holding a tray with two mugs placed on it. She set one down in front of Dipper, the other in front of Bill. “Be careful, it’s hot!” She chirped to Dipper. “Okay, well, I’ll be back later! Enjoy, sweeties!” With that, the young waitress skipped away, giggling to herself.

 

_ She’s certainly peppy,  _ Bill thought. 

 

Dipper lifted the drink to his lips and took a sip. He seemed to be staring at Bill over the rim of the white mug. Bill couldn’t help but get lost in the brunet’s deep eyes, snapping out of it only by a strange stirring feeling in his chest. He’d never felt it before. It was new, and he couldn’t tell if it was pleasant or not. 

 

It seemed to get stronger the longer he looked at Dipper, so he turned his attention to the glass sitting in front of him. Narrowing his visible eye, he took a drink. The flavour shocked him, to say the least, and he sputtered in surprise, making his brown-haired companion choke on his own drink in laughter. The feeling in Bill’s chest grew tighter. 

 

“Never tried coffee before or something?” Dipper queried, wiping splattered drink off his face. Bill nodded. 

 

“Haven’t had the pleasure.” He rasped, throat feeling a little weird. Dipper cracked a grin. 

 

“Suprising. It is a little gross at first, but it gets better.”

 

Bill turned a little pink at the laughing tone in Dipper’s voice.  _ What the hell is going on with me? I’m so... _ awkward!

 

“I’ll trust you on that.”

 

_ Ha ha that’ll be a first. _

 

He took another sip, eye twinkling. Sure enough, the second time wasn’t so bad. “Alright, I was right to trust you.” Dipper winked. “Told ya.”

 

The two spent at least an hour there before Dipper payed and they wandered around the town, eventually stopping in a little park in the center. They sat on a bench and talked together, Dipper finding himself slipping deeper into Bill’s charms and Bill still struggling to understand why he felt so strange. 

 

Dipper was once again discussing his favourite fantasy stories. The conversation had stemmed from Bill asking about Dipper’s shirt. He said it was from a series called “Lord of the Rings”. 

 

“I brought the complete movie set, you should totally come over some time and we could watch it!” Dipper then went red again. “Er...only if...only if you want to!” He stuttered. Bill smiled, swinging his feet. “No, it’s okay! I’d love to.” Dipper seemed to light up. “Awesome!” 

 

_ Oh my god what is going on I’m blushing and I don’t know what I’m feeling send help. _

 

There was a slight gust of wind that blew past them, messing up Bill’s hair and partially revealing his eye. Panicking, he clapped both hands over it, looking away from Dipper. Dipper frowned. “Hey, you don’t have to be nervous about it around me.” Bill kept his hands over his eye. “I...I don’t know...it’s not pretty.” Dipper shrugged. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to get to know you better. I want you to trust me. I know we only just met, but I want to know you. If that’s okay.” Bill hesitated, then turned back to him and brushed away his hair with one hand, letting the other fall into his lap. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

 

He was right, it wasn’t pretty. The eye itself was milky white, not even a trace of blue in it. There was scarring around the socket, like he’d been slashed with a knife. The scars spread into his hairline like cracks in porcelain. 

 

Dipper thought it just made William a hell of a lot more interesting. “It’s not that bad, you know.”

 

Bill quirked an eyebrow. “Really?” 

 

Dipper shook his head. “No, not at all. It’s different, that’s for sure, but...somehow, you make it look good. It makes you look badass.” 

 

Bill blinked, then grinned. “Thanks.” 

 

“It’s no problem.”

 

At five o’clock, they walked back to the Shack. Halfway there, Dipper cautiously slipped his hand into Bill’s, glancing at him nervously. “Is this okay?” Bill nodded. “Why wouldn’t it be?” 

 

And so they walked, hand in hand, until they got to the Mystery Shack. Dipper let go and turned to Bill. “Thanks, William. I had a lovely time.” Bill shoved his hands in his pockets. “So did I. We’ll meet again, right?” Dipper blinked. “I hope so! Uh, maybe not tomorrow, I promised Mabel and Stan I’d go fishing. I think. Was that tomorrow? Ah, I don’t know.” 

 

Now they were both standing there, hands in pockets, not really looking at each other. Neither of them said anything. It was just a very,  _ very _ awkward silence. 

 

And then Dipper leaned over and very softly pressed his lips against Bill’s. 

 

Then drew back, flushed red. “I’ll see you around, William.” With that, he turned and swiftly walked into the Shack, leaving Bill standing in shock outside.

 

He lifted a hand and gingerly touched his lips, feeling the heat still rising to his face. His first kiss in thousands of years.

 

He was in shock. 

Not because it was his first kiss, no, but because Dipper Pines had just kissed him.

  
And he’d enjoyed every second of it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh heh cuties. 
> 
> I was planning this for ages. 
> 
> Oh, how I like keeping things cute...right?
> 
>  
> 
> IMPORTANT EDIT: Heya! So sorry it's taken so long for the next chapter to be posted, but it IS done and will be posted tonight, after my editor can proofread it. Thanks for your patience!


	4. Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the events of the date, Dipper continues to settle into life in town while Bill tries to learn more about being human through reading. Dipper asks Mabel to create something, and Mabel starts wondering if there's something wrong with "William."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is literally a filler chapter to really get the plot going, but enjoy. 
> 
> There's probably going to be more of Mabel's perspective too, because stuff's gonna happen.
> 
> Also, enjoy all the POV switches.

Dipper barely had time to close the door before there was a wild screech and a  “Dipper! How’d it go?! Tell me everything! Leave nothing out!”

 

Her brother was flushed tomato red, breathing heavily, and shaking. Mabel’s smile faded slightly. “Dipping sauce?”

 

“Mabel I kissed him.”

 

“You did  _ what?! _ ” 

 

“I…kissed him. Just now. I leaned over and kissed William.”

 

“YEAH! GO DIPPER!”

 

“Shut up, Mabel.”

 

Mabel giggled and dragged her twin over to the living room. “Okay, okay, tell me  _ exactly  _ what happened. Every detail.”

 

Dipper groaned as he sunk into the old yellow chair. “Mabel…why do you care so much? Really.”

 

“Because this guy is cute as hell and you're so in love with him it's funny. Even funnier than when you had a crush on Wendy. Or that other guy from school.”

 

“Ugh.”

 

“Tell me.”

 

Dipper shot her a withering glance, resting his face against a hand. “Fine.”

 

Mabel sat patiently, legs crossed and eyes wide (Probably in an attempt to look sweet or innocent), as Dipper tried his best to recount what happened. When he finished (having -uncomfortably - described in detail his kiss with William), his sister squealed and clapped her hands. 

 

“Oh my GOOOODDDD! That’s so adorable! I’m totally gonna knit William a sweater! Oooh, I could make you  _ matching _ sweaters...yeah, that’d be fantabulous! 

 

“Mabel, you’re rambling, and ‘fantabulous’ isn’t a word.”

 

“Uh, yeah, ‘Mister Encyclopedia’ it is, look it up.”

 

“Oh shut your mouth.”

 

“Nooooope. I’m gonna tease you aaalllllll summer long.”

 

“Ugh. Do that and I’ll walk home.”

 

“But it’s a six hour drive! It’d take you  _ days _ to walk!”

 

“Mabel. I’m joking.”

 

His sister stuck her tongue out. “Yeah, whatever.”

 

***

 

The next few days were spent relaxing back into the rhythm of Gravity Falls. It was odd, at first, waking up in the attic with Mabel snoring a couple feet away from Dipper. It had been ages since they’d shared a room. They had moved into a bigger house the year after returning, so for the first time since they were born, they actually had separate bedrooms. (Much to their relief, for Dipper was sick of Mabel chatting on the phone at one in the morning or leaving her knitting needles on his chair. Mabel had gotten annoyed at all the books and notes her brother left around, even on her bed and the like.) Often Mabel would wake to find Dipper’s bed empty, indicating he’d probably already left with Ford to do some nerdy science stuff in the woods. He’d come back around noon, usually covered in dirt, sticks in his hair, and cuts on his face and arms. Of course, there’d be a huge grin on his face as he babbled on and on about whatever scientific anomaly had attacked them in the woods that day. 

 

After a week or so, it seemed like the twins had lived there their whole lives, the memories of their first visit blending with the new ones. On some days Dipper would go by himself down to the banks of the lake with his journal, where he’d sit and draw for hours upon end. It was wonderful.

 

As for Bill, or rather, William, he had spent the majority of the days since their date in the library, reading up on human history. It was interesting, he decided, to see things through the eyes of mortal beings. He had been part of many of these events, or had at least existed during them. Sometimes there’d even be mention of him in a book and he’d laugh, for he could remember that particular time. Yes, Bill had certainly changed since then. 

 

Both physically and mentally.

 

Mainly physically.

 

He had also discovered the “Internet”. There was a line of computers along the back wall of the library. Bill had seen someone use one, so hey, he tried it out. The computer proved to be quite useful for finding information that was next to impossible to find in the thousands of books that resided in the building. Now, at around one thirty in the afternoon on a Monday, Bill was seated at a computer, staring blankly at the screen in an attempt to think of the wording of a question. He first searched up “Strange feeling in stomach”, but apparently that wasn’t descriptive enough, for all that came up was possible sicknesses he could have. (Like the one that told Bill he should expect to be coughing up blood within a week.) Not particularly helpful. Next he tried “Feeling sick when near someone”. Again, just more supposedly contagious diseases. Except for one, at the very bottom of the page.

 

“How can I tell when I’m in love with someone?”, followed by a short list. One entry was indeed, feeling sick.

 

Bill typed “what is love” into the search engine. 

 

No diseases this time, but a lot of lyrics and videos for a song.

 

Plus some entries about what he was looking for. 

 

Between flipping from site to site and scribbling down notes on a pad of paper, at around four, Bill was given undeniable proof about what was going on with him.

 

***

Meanwhile, the Pines twins had just gotten back from another fishing trip with Stan and Ford. (Although Ford spent most of the time sending a miniature water drone into the lake to try and snap photos of anything bizarre.) It had been sweltering hot and all four of them were now slumped onto one piece of furniture or another with about five fans directed at them. Mabel was knitting again, the long strands of green yarn dragging across her brother, who was too tired and hot to complain. 

 

In fact, Dipper hadn’t really spoken since they’d returned to the Shack. For one thing, he wanted to cool off and there wasn’t really a point in talking, and for another, he was thinking. About William. Well, when was he  _ not _ thinking about William? 

 

He sat up suddenly, accidentally knocking Mabel’s ball of yarn off the couch, sending it rolling across the floor, unraveling as it went. His sister shot him a dirty look. 

 

“Really, Dipper? You’re tolerable for twenty minutes and then you go and be annoying again?”

 

Dipper fetched the ball of painfully neon green yarn and tossed it back to her. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, sorry bout that. You like making things, right?”

 

Mabel made eye contact with him as she kept knitting. She didn’t say anything, just stared at him pointedly with a raised eyebrow. 

 

“You tell me.”

 

“Right, sorry, no need to be a smartass about it.”

 

“Yuh huh. You have a question?” Mabel asked, waving a hand. 

 

Dipper nodded. “Yeah, I was just thinking...could you make me something?”

 

Mabel snorted. “That’s a first. What, like a sweater? Wait, that’s a dumb question, because you don’t need another one, especially not a hand-knitted one.”

 

The taller twin rolled his eyes. “I get it, you’re still salty about that, shut up. No, I’m thinking more along the lines of an eyepatch…”

 

***

_ Nope. Not happening. Not right, not real. It’s an illusion. A trick. Please tell me it’s a trick… _

Bill was still at the library, slumped over a table after reading his notes again and again. He didn’t want to think about it, so naturally, that was the only thing going through his head. Hell, he’d even tried reading the fiction books Dipper had recommended for him. They were interesting and he enjoyed reading them, but did they move his mind away from his problem? Not even a little bit. 

 

Why did everything have to be so complicated? First off, he woke up in the forest, human. With no powers and no information about what happened. Next, he ran into the Pines twins, who were older now and a lot smarter, and then, well, he’d went on a “date” with Dipper, of all people, who had then  _ kissed him _ . 

 

Oh, and let’s not forget that all of the new emotions he was feeling, such as that warm bubbly one he got when Dipper laughed, all added up to the conclusion that he, Bill Cipher, the demon who had existed for eons, who had killed thousands and tortured even more, who had only been truly defeated once, by none other than the meddling Pines family, was undoubtedly and truly...in love. 

  
  


***

 

Mabel wasn’t expecting her brother to ask for an eyepatch. She was making it obviously, but an eyepatch? Maybe she shouldn’t question it. She had moved up to their attic, where she was seated in the little cushioned alcove overlooking the yard. The teen gazed out the window as she stitched, having had so much practice she really only needed to  _ feel _ the shape of whatever she was sewing in order to make it. It was simple. 

 

For her. She’d tried to teach Dipper once, but it clearly wasn’t his thing. In fact, mix Dipper with a needle and thread, and it just spelled disaster. 

 

Really though, she was content with sitting up there by herself and sewing. And thinking. Everything seemed so peaceful. It was like Weirdmaggedon never happened. But in her mind, she could still hear it. See it. The screaming of the survivors as they were captured, the way the buildings crumbled. What really made her sick was the thought that technically...it was all her fault. She still blamed herself, despite the support of her friends and family. 

 

There was a gap in her memories from that summer, probably when she was trapped in the bubble. Well, she remembered what happened in her bubble, but outside...she’d rather not think about it. 

 

Mabel kept sewing. 

 

On Saturday, she’d met up with Pacifica again. Surprisingly, the girl wasn’t a total bitch like she was when they were twelve. In fact, she had been doing charity work and even seemed to respect the Pines. A little bit. Mabel decided Pacifica was decent to be around now. 

 

When she’d told Dipper, he had gagged. Obviously he still had a deep rooted loathing for Pacifica. 

 

She dropped the subject.

 

But then, thinking of that conversation again made her think of Dipper, which brought Mabel’s mind back to the thing she was sewing. She knew who it was for, she wasn’t stupid. Like everything for the past week and a half, it was for William. 

 

Mabel really did like him, but there was just this nagging feeling at the back of her mind that  _ something wasn’t right. _ Like, when he talked, a little voice yelled DANGER. Could she figure out exactly what was out of place?

 

Ha ha, nope. 

 

She did try, though. Perhaps it was just paranoia left over from the last summer they’d spent there, but she was left to wonder why it only acted up around Dipper’s new...boyfriend? Crush?  _ Eh, I’ll leave it up for Dipper to decide,  _ she concluded, finishing the last stitch at the same time. Mabel thought it looked pretty cool. 

 

It was rather simple, for she’d just taken one of Stan’s spare prop eyepatches and added two extra straps, padding on the inside for comfort and better support, and then embroidered some little designs in yellow and white, specifically tiny vines winding around the outer border. 

 

Hopefully it would pass Dipper’s expectations.

 

Everything had to be  _ perfect _ when it came to his crushes. And he thought  _ she  _ was bad when it came to the people she crushed on. Yeesh. 

 

Much to her delight, Dipper was ecstatic when Mabel gave him the patch. He even gave her a rare hug. 

 

“Thank you so much! This is perfect!”

 

His twin laughed, crossing her arms.

 

“Glad you like it, nerd.”

 

Dipper beamed. “I’m gonna go find him! This is awesome!”, he shouted, bolting out the door. Mabel stuck her head out after him.

 

“Bro, do ya even know where he is?”

 

Dipper shouted something back, but his response was lost in the wind. 

 

***

 

After checking literally every public building in town (which really wasn’t that hard, Gravity Falls was pretty small), Dipper finally stopped at the library, remembering William saying he’d been spending some time there. He was out of breath when he pushed the door open. 

 

It only took him a couple seconds to find William, because for one thing, his blond hair was so incredibly bright it was hard to miss. That might’ve been caused by the light flooding in from a window behind him.

 

Or, y’know, there was also the fact that William had practically built a fortress of books around himself, and was seated in the center on a beanbag, biting a lip as he read one of the many books from his stacks. Dipper strode up, trying not to disturb the towers of novels. 

“William?”

 

The blond looked up, a flash of surprise flickering across his ice-blue eyes before he grinned. 

“Dipper! Hello! I’m catching up on some of the books you suggested,” he explained, gesturing to the fortress. Dipper laughed. “I can see that. How’re you enjoying them?”

 

“Ooh, they’re wonderful! I’m in the middle of reading  _ Ender’s Game _ right now.”

 

“Yeah, that’s a good one. Hey, I brought you something.”   
  


William raised an eyebrow, setting his book aside. “Oh?”

 

Dipper pulled the eyepatch out of his pocket. “I thought this might be useful. Y’know, so your hair isn’t in your face.”

 

William’s eye widened as he took it from Dipper. “It’s incredible! Thank you!” He shot to his feet and practically leaped at the brunet, pulling him into a hug. Dipper let out a shocked “Oh!” before returning the gesture, wrapping his arms around William’s wiry figure. 

 

When they finally pulled away, William’s eye was shining and Dipper was red again.

 

There were also a couple other residents of the library who were looking on in amusement, not even bothering to tell them to be quiet. 

 

William donned the embroidered patch, giggling as he pushed thick locks of curly hair away from the usually-concealed side of his face. 

 

“I love it.” He whispered, gingerly running his fingers over it before glancing back at Dipper, who looked half-awkward, half-pleased. 

 

“You’re welcome, but the person you should  _ really _ be thanking is Mabel. She made it for you.”

 

William nodded. “I’ll do that next time I see her.”

 

-

 

Dipper pulled up one of the chairs from a nearby table and sat down. Bill flopped back onto his beanbag, looking at Dipper with a degree of fondness. Dipper really didn’t know. He thought Bill was just another teenage boy who just so happened to have been in town when he’d come back. At first, Bill hated being human. There was still that lingering cruelty from his demon form. But as a human, he could  _ feel  _ things. Real emotions. It overwhelmed him sometimes. Over the couple weeks he’d lived as human, Bill had adjusted to being human. Maybe sometimes he did miss being omnipotent. Who wouldn’t? But seeing this little town, which was so small it usually went unnoticed in the bustle of the outside world, from the perspective of a mortal human...it changed him. He felt awful for what he’d done, and had sworn to himself that if he did ever regain his old powers, he would not harm the place again. Maybe he’d even return to his destroyed dimension.

 

Odd, wasn’t it, for a demon to feel remorse?

 

And then there was Dipper. Dipper Pines, who had tried to kill him. More than once, and had practically succeeded. Who’d hated him. 

 

The very same Dipper who was gazing at Bill with soft eyes. The same Dipper who trusted him. Maybe even...loved him? Loved William. Not Bill.

  
And at that moment, that’s what Bill wanted to be. William, who was in love with Dipper. As long as he could be with him, that’s all Bill wanted to be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I am so sorry this took so long to post. I had severe writer's block after posting the last chapter and didn't find the time to try and write something down. I promise I'll try and get chapters up with a week in between at the (hopefully) most. But don't worry! I am going to finish this story, so if there hasn't been an update in a while, it's just because I either had writer's block again or something kept interfering. 
> 
> Thank you all for the support this has been getting, it makes me so happy when I see people enjoying my work. Love y'all!
> 
>  
> 
> EDIT, DECEMBER 5th: Oh goodness, this hasn't been updated in like...two months. My deepest apologies. The new chapter is close to finished, I'll get it up as soon as I can.


	5. Day with a Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill remembers what it was like when he first woke up in a flashback, and gets a nasty surprise when he tries to regain his magic abilities, resulting in a shocking, but not totally unexpected discovery. Mabel's suspicion grows, and she begins to take action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even have an excuse this time lmao I was just lazy

After two weeks, it was (actually) official. William and Dipper were dating. Mabel called their parents to squeal, which of course did not bode well with Dipper. He was still getting texts from them saying  _ Congratulations! Can’t wait to meet him!  _ or  _ Send us pictures!... _ It was getting unreasonable.

 

William, or more accurately, Bill, had cleared up most of his confusion about his body, though there was still the occasional moment where he’d miscalculate something and end up injuring himself. He’d figured out ways to ask Dipper about stuff without making him suspicious. Or weirded out. Still no luck at reviving his magic, however. Unfortunately, despite being happy with Dipper, he would always be a demon, no matter what form he was in. So he tried to focus his energy into waking his powers almost every day. No luck. He only succeeded in making himself pass out. At least being a (part) demon meant he didn’t need to eat much, so that solved a small problem. 

 

As for Mabel, well, she was growing wary of Dipper’s boyfriend. Obviously she was happy for him. But she’d look at William and something about his one blue eye and curly gold hair set her nerves off. Most of the time, when he was with Dipper, his eye was friendly. But there were times, like when Dipper had turned away, where his gaze turned cold. Like he wanted to hurt someone. Mabel wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell Dipper or not. Perhaps it was just her mind overreacting. Nevertheless, her blood still froze whenever she heard William laugh.

Dipper was content. When he’d came to Gravity Falls at twelve years old, he’d laughed at Mabel for wanting a “hot summer romance”. He ate his words after developing a crush on Wendy, which lasted the entire summer plus some. But now he sat at the edge of the woods with his boyfriend, drawing in his journal. William was staring out at the water. The early morning sunlight was glinting off his hair, making it glow brighter than usual. Since Dipper had given him the eyepatch, he’d kept his hair swept out of his face. Dipper thought it made him look regal. When Dipper mentioned this to William, he’d smiled slyly and said nothing. The longer Dipper was around William, the more mysterious he seemed. Not in a bad way, of course, but in a way that made him so much more interesting. He knew a lot about history, even more than Dipper did. It was like he’d actually been in the World Wars, seen things first-hand. Dipper joked about him being a time traveler and William would wink. “Not exactly.”, he’d say with a laugh. “But close.” 

 

Dipper was, at the moment, drawing William. He spent ages trying to get the curve of William’s face right, the way his eyes sparkled, how his hair bristled up at the back. William turned his head suddenly, startling Dipper. “Whatcha drawing?” Dipper snapped the book shut on his finger. “Oh, uh, just...something.” William leaned over, trying to get a look at the journal. “Can I see?” 

“No.”

“Awe, why not?”

“It’s not very good.” 

William looked at Dipper with a pleading expression. “Pleeaase?” Dipper attempted to hold in a smile. “Nope.” William pressed himself against his boyfriend. “ _ Pleeeease? _ ” The blonde whined. “No matter how much you beg, you are  _ not  _ getting this journal.” Dipper stated, about to say more when he felt a tug under his hand. William darted away from Dipper, holding the teal book in one hand. “Ha! What were you saying?” He crowed, waving it above his head. “Oi! Give that back!” Dipper complained, lunging for William from his seat on the sand. William ducked away from his hand, giggling. “What’s in this that you don’t want me to see?” 

“My bad drawings! Come on, man! Give it back!” William scurried farther away and plopped himself back down in the sand. “Relax, Dip. It ain’t like I can draw.” Dipper threw himself dramatically onto the ground. “You’re a horrible person,” He whined. “I don’t know why I put up with you.” William glanced over to him. “Neither do I.” 

  
  


Bill really did care for Dipper. The teen showed him, without realizing he was doing it, that being a person was a good thing. Not that he wanted to be human forever, but he made himself a deal that once his powers were regained, he would leave their dimension alone. 

 

Looking back at the blue journal, Bill flipped to the first page. Familiar loopy handwriting was inscribed across the paper, announcing that this was property of Dipper Pines. Below it was a tiny sketch of the Cipher wheel, which Bill flinched at and quickly turned the page to get the infernal thing out of his sight. Each of the pages was incredibly detailed, down to the individual hairs on animals. Several pages in, Bill found the sketches Dipper had been working on. He smiled, a little shocked Dipper was wasting his talent on his scrawny meatsuit. Even the shine in his eye was realistic, the gentle purse of his lips. He turned the page again, and froze, his chest seizing up at the words scrawled across the ink-spotted paper.

 

_ Bill Cipher _

 

_ Omnipotent Dream Demon _

 

_ Origin: The Nightmare Realm _

 

_ Abilities: These seem endless. Examples include dream manipulation,  shape shifting, object manipulation, teleportation, electrokinesis, and various others.  _

 

_ Weaknesses: Only two are known of. The Cipher Wheel, and a memory gun. We used the gun to defeat him during Weirdmaggedon.  _

 

_ This creature has cost me too much of my life. I was twelve when he traumatized me, and I still have nightmares. May God have mercy on us all if he should ever find a way to come back.  _

 

Shaking, Bill closed the book, not wanting to read the rest. He felt a little nauseous. “Here ya go, Dipper!” He said, trying to keep his voice upbeat and not shaky. Dipper wrinkled his nose and snatched the journal back. “That was rude.” 

“Maybe. Your drawings are good, though. You have quite the talent.”

“Thanks. It helps take my mind off...things.” Dipper said, eyes becoming unfocused, staring out at the horizon. “Things like what?”

“Ah, the last time I was here. Things have changed so much, it’s hard to piece together that it’s really the same place. I’ve only just come to terms with the fact that this summer’s gonna be semi-peaceful. No out-of-the-blue apocalypses. Y’know?”

 

“Yeah. I get what you’re talking about. It feels weird.”

 

Dipper half-smiled. “On the bright side, I have someone other than my sister who’s been through basically the same things I have.” 

 

“That’s true. I think both of our lives are equally messed up.” Bill chuckled, scooting closer to Dipper and tucking his knees up to his chin. “Perhaps we were meant to run into each other.” 

The other boy looked over at him, smiling. “I think we were. I’m glad I’m such a klutz; had I been watching where I was going, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here.” He said, sliding his hand over Bill’s. “Point is, I’m happy we met.” 

 

“Me too.” 

 

And then they were inches from kissing. Bill looked into Dipper’s dark brown eyes, Dipper gazing into Bill’s ice blue one as they leaned toward each other.

Naturally, the universe hated them and Dipper’s phone went off, blaring a loud, obnoxious technologic song. The two boys jumped apart, laughing, as Dipper answered the phone. 

 

“Mabel, what do you want?”

 

He sat in the sand, eyes narrowed, as the frantic voice of Mabel Pines could just be heard through the phone speakers. “Stan did  _ what? _ Geez. Oh, alright. I’ll be there in five.” The brunet looked over at Bill, who raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m with William. Shut up.” A pause. “No, that did not happen. We’re at the beach.” Another pause quickly followed by an exasperated sigh. “Shut up, Mabel. I’ll see you soon.” He finished, hanging up. “Sorry William, my sister needs help. I have to go.” Bill waved him off. “That’s fine. Go. I can wait.”    
Dipper smiled. “Thanks.” He bent down and pecked Bill lightly on the cheek before scooping his knapsack up and running off. Bill watched him leave, a smile playing on his lips. The kid was adorable when he wasn’t trying to kill someone - namely, Bill. 

 

Now that he was alone, Bill turned back to the water. He raised his right hand, palm up, fingers spread, and closed his eyes. He allowed his mind to wander, dipping back into memories of when he had magic. It wasn’t easy, but a couple minutes later he felt a tingling sensation across his hand. He blinked open his eyes, lips widening into a grin. Dancing across his palm in the rising sun was a ball of blue flame, spiraling through his fingers. It wasn’t too big, nor a huge power, but it was a sign that his magic was returning. Things were  _ actually going his way _ for once. 

 

Without Dipper around, there wasn’t a lot to do at the beach. It was pretty, yes, but now that the sun was rising, more people were starting to appear. Bill didn’t care much for swimming, or large crowds. 

 

So he left. Back into the forest, up the hills, and to the clearing where his statue lay. Was it weird that he was basically hanging around his own corpse? Probably. Did Bill care? Not in the slightest. Besides, it still contained some of his consciousness. In a sense. If he wanted to, Bill could slip back in the statue in a sort of stasis. (He supposed humans might call it “sleep”...) Thinking about it, that was weird too, wasn’t it? 

 

On the bright side, no one wanted to come up these trails anymore, so he could practice strengthening his magic without fear of someone finding him. 

 

Bill sat down against his statue. It confused him when he thought about how he’d been resurrected. Although he’d sorted some of the details out, there was still the question of  _ how the heck did I come back to life?  _ The process of his resurrection was clear enough; an unknown force had woken up his dormant consciousness that still resided within the statue, and when said consciousness woke to find it had no usable body, it created a new one, using a template within Bill’s memory and rearranging it to fit his needs. Then the statue released the form and Bill woke up on the same grass he was sitting on now. He could remember what it felt like, opening his eye to stare up at unfamiliar stars. Realize he could no longer feel the buzz of his magic within his reserve. Look down to see a human body wrapped in a frayed sheet instead of his own. Raise human hands in front of himself. Shakily pull himself to his feet, using the cracked statue and a tree as crutches to help him stay upright. He recalled taking the first few steps, which were wobbly, and the feeling of sticks and stones and pine needles stabbing into his feet. He shuffled down to the glowing lights of the nearby town, the residents asleep. He was alone; the streets were lit only by the moon, the street lamps, and the slight glow of the neon store fronts. It was silent. Each wobbly step Bill took split through the quiet night like a bullet through the air. He stumbled down the road, feet bleeding, legs sore, mind muddled. The slight breeze whispered through his new hair, blowing blonde locks in front of his eye. (Scornfully, he’d noticed that his new body still had only one eye.) 

 

It was cold. And alien. Seeing the town from a human’s view was...unnatural. For the first time in his life, he felt vulnerable. Open to attack. 

 

He needed to solve what had happened and get back to normal. 

 

He’d find a way to be back to normal within a week, he was sure of it. 

 

Hah. 

 

Almost a month later and the only progress he’d made in regaining his power was the ability to summon a bigger flame. The time seemed to blend together, and honestly, he wasn’t sure how long it had been since he’d woken up. He just assumed it was almost a month. 

 

Well, at least he wasn’t in any danger with the Pines family.

 

Bill sat up again and reignited his fire. The blue flames licked at his hand again, casting strange lights on his face. He focused his energy on the flame and made it swirl into simple silhouettes drawn out from his memories. A book. The outlines of two kids. His old form. The last one flickered and went out with a poof. Bill sighed. He couldn’t even keep a form in his fire. Great.  _ Okay, _ he thought,  _ at least I can create silhouettes. If I can do that, perhaps I can transfer the flame to my other hand as well, to double the power. _ He steadied his right hand, that held the fire, and scooped his other hand into the blue flames. 

 

And promptly shrieked in agony. 

 

Bill yanked his left hand out of the flames, breathing heavily. It appeared only his  _ right _ hand was fire resistant. His left was only partially. If he was human, the damage would’ve been worse. That’s not saying it was already bad. He extinguished the flame in his right hand, pain spreading from his left and threatening to cause him to pass out. Spots started to dance in front of his eye. Trembling, he looked down at his hand and spread his fingers, crying out as the burned skin moved. He gagged at the scent of burnt flesh; the flames had seared away the first few layers of skin, leaving his hand blackened and bleeding.  _ Ew ew ew oh god that’s a lot of blood what the hell am I supposed to do?!  _

 

Bill took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves.  _ Okay. I can handle this. Just calm down, and get some help. Right. Where can I get help? Not from the Pines, they’re busy… _

There was no way in hell he would go to the hospital; explaining the eye and why his blood didn’t match any type they had on record would be too difficult and he’d raise suspicion. 

 

He resorted to shaking his hand frantically while he was thinking. When the pain of that got too great, he booked it to a nearby stream and submerged his burned hand in the cold water. Blood drifted from the wound in hazy clouds. The clear water turned pink as the dark crimson dispersed. The water was so cold the pain in his hand started to go away; now it only throbbed from the temperature of the water. Sitting there, holding his hand in a stream because he’d  _ set it on fire _ , was so profound to him, so bizarre, Bill couldn’t help but start laughing. To think that he, Bill Cipher, thousand-year-old dream demon, would be in this situation was a little odd to think about. 

 

He didn’t really know how long he sat by the stream; certainly long enough to make his hand lose all feeling completely. Which probably wasn’t a good thing, he thought as he pulled his hand from the stream, and shook it to rid it of excess water. Tiny water droplets flew off in every direction, bouncing off nearby leaves as they made their way to the ground. Bill looked down at his hand. He blinked in confusion, turning his hand over a couple times to confirm his first thought. The blood was gone, and now it looked like it was already healing. Sure, it was still bad, but it had healed significantly in the time he’d spent submerging it. Bill knew enough about humans to know that their feeble skin healed incredibly slowly - or sometimes not at all. So this meant his regenerative abilities were coming back. Gradually. It’d probably take days for it to heal completely, at this rate. The most he could do, he decided, was to find something to bind the wound with. If it got infected, it would only take longer to heal. Bill hauled himself to his feet and gently dabbed off any remaining moisture with the bottom of his hoodie. Tucking his wounded hand into his sleeve, he started to make his way back down the trail that led into the town. 

 

It seemed that every time Bill returned, he ran into someone. There he was, minding his own business, walking along, when BAM! someone plowed right into him. He stumbled back, dazed, as the person apologized. “Sorry, my fault, I- William?” 

Bill’s gaze snapped back to the person ahead of him, and his eyes met those of Mabel Pines. “Mabel! Uh, hi!” He stuttered, awkwardly fiddling with the hems of his sweater. “William. Nice to see you. Is everything okay? You look nervous,” Mabel replied, tucking a strand of her short brown hair behind her ear and furrowing her brow. Bill grimaced. “Not really. I, uh,” he chuckled, “I sorta injured myself.” 

Mabel’s eyes turned worried. “Oh dear! How’d you hurt yourself?”

“Burned my hand,” Bill explained, then quickly followed up with “But it’s not that bad!” at Mabel’s little gasp. Mabel shook her head. “Yeah, seventeen years of living with Dipper has given me the gift of knowing when someone’s faking. Lemme see.” She reached for Bill’s injured arm, and he promptly yanked it away from her grasp. “No, no, really! I’m okay!”

“I’m calling bullshit on that,” Mabel said calmly, finally grabbing hold of Bill’s wrist and making him yelp in pain. Mabel pulled up the sleeve and almost screamed. “Oh my god! William, what on Earth did you do?!” 

Bill groaned, trying to come up with an excuse. “Fell...into a fire pit?”

“Jesus Christ, you’ve given yourself a third-degree burn! Here, come with me. I’ll treat it.”

 

Bill stayed where he was. “Mabel, it’s okay. Really.” 

Mabel fixed him with a glare that made Bill’s heart stop momentarily. “Come. Now.” 

“Coming,” Bill said meekly.

 

***

 

By the time Mabel had returned with her med kit - Bill refused to go into the Shack, he still wasn’t sure if he even could - the burn had healed even more. The remaining blackened skin was gone, so now it was only a mess of firetruck-red, pinks, and white. “What the hell?” Was the first thing Mabel said when she took hold of Bill’s wrist again. “I coulda sworn this was worse.” Bill didn’t say anything. Just shrugged. Mabel frowned as she applied some sort of ointment and bound the burn with soft gauze. “There. Good as new. But,” She said, holding Bill’s bandaged hand up to eye level, “Be more careful, dumbass. How you managed to fall into a fire pit, I don’t know. Just don’t do it again. I don’t want my brother’s boyfriend dying after a horrible hotdog-roasting accident. Got it?”

 

“Yes,” Bill mumbled. Mabel smiled and released him. “Good,” She patted him on the shoulder, “I’ll see ya later, Goldilocks. I have some business to prepare for, so I’ve gotta go. I’ll tell Dipper you say hi when he gets back.” She turned and walked back to the Shack, throwing a last wave over her shoulder. Bill waved back and watched her disappear inside. Then he too, turned and walked away from the clearing, clenching his bandaged hand.

 

Mabel drew her hand away from the blinds as soon as she was sure William was gone, letting them fall back into place. She knew the wound had been a third-degree burn; and burns like that didn’t heal in the ten minutes it took to walk back to the Shack. She was certain now that there was more to William than met the eye, and she was determined to find out exactly what he was hiding. For her brother.  _ Dipper can’t know,  _ she told herself, as she ran up to their bedroom. Dipper was nowhere in sight; which made this a lot easier. Mabel’s phone buzzed. She took it out of her back pocket and smiled at the text message.

 

**_Drama Llama_ **

**_11:15_ **

_ Bel, I’m at our spot! Can’t wait to see you!!  _

 

Mabel giggled and shot back a text.

 

**_Shooting Star_ **

**_11:15_ **

_ sorry! have something to sort out, b there soon!  _

 

**_Drama Llama_ **

**_11:16_ **

_ Hurry yo slow ass up. What’s so important, anyways?? _

 

Mabel tucked her phone back in her pocket as she knelt beside Dipper’s bed and pulled out the shoebox he kept under it, which he thought she didn’t know about, but of course, she did. (For a secretive guy like him, his hiding skills really needed work.) 

 

**_Shooting Star_ **

**_11:18_ **

_ i just need to check something out. won’t take 2 long. Brb. _

 

She opened the box and took out Dipper’s blue journal.  _ It’s a place to start, _ she assured herself, sitting cross-legged against the bed and flipping the book open. Her brother’s loopy writing covered the pages; Mabel had to squint to read it. She scanned the ink-stained pages until she reached a section labeled, in large, curvy letters:

  
_ Demons & Shapeshifters - How to Identify Them (As Taught By Great-Uncle Ford.)  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit! The last time I updated this was in September! I am so sorry! 
> 
> But yeah, I decided to use this chapter to clear some things up about Bill. And what's Mabel thinkin' about? What's she gonna do?
> 
> Oooh and I'm introducing a new character next chapter, any ideas as to who it is?

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so yes, this was/is inspired by Tourist Trapped. And this first chapter may seem a little rushed and/or short, but I have a plot I promise. Also I'm bad at starting stories. If you enjoyed the first chapter, please give it some love! I'm really nervous to post my work so...yeah. Anyways, hope you enjoy it.


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